Adrenaline rushed through Lucien's body at the thought of the beast having it's way with his sister's body.
With that, he threw himself forward, tackling the creature with everything he had. It was like slamming into stone.
They both rolled through ash and debris, crashing into the remains of the wall. He swung the broken spear with desperate fury, landing hits that made dull thuds. The beast hissed, shaking him off, its claws slicing across his ribs. The pain blurred his vision, but he didn't stop. He couldn't.
He shoved the beast back just far enough to stand between it and his sister's body.
"If I couldn't protect her when she was alive…" he said, voice breaking, "…then I'll protect her now."
The first beast had recovered, its heavy steps shaking the ground as it joined the second. Lucien's chest heaved. His arms trembled. He knew what came next.
He was trapped.
Both beasts circled him, violet light seeping from their wounds. They were low-ranked, maybe F or E at best, but for someone like him, that was enough to die.
He swallowed hard, feeling the weight of every decision that had brought him here. His whole life had been a chain of limits. His body wouldn't channel Aether. His blood was wrong. And yet he was still here, standing over his sister's body with nothing but a broken weapon and a will that refused to fade.
The first beast charged at him as he parried the claw with the shaft of his spear, the impact sending him stumbling back. The second followed as if in sync, its tail whipping through the air and slamming into his side.
Thwack!
Lucien hit the wall hard, gasping as pain shot through his chest like lightning.
Lucien spat blood, forcing himself upright. "Damn it…" he hissed, staggering. "I trained for this. I trained so hard, and this is all I get?"
The beasts advanced, their steps synchronized, deliberate. He could hear the chaos outside, more screams, the clash of metal, but it was distant. He didn't know if anyone was still fighting, or if anyone even cared to.
He tightened his grip on the broken spear, the wood slick with blood. "If this world wants me dead again… it's going to have to work harder."
He lunged first this time, pushing past fear, thrusting with all his weight. The point scraped along the creature's jaw, deflecting as it bit down and snapped the shaft clean in two. The recoil spun him off balance.
Slash!
A claw followed, raking across his chest.
Making him stumble, and fall to one knee, his vision swimming.
The second beast lunged, knocking him down completely. The ground cracked beneath him. His arms screamed as he tried to push it away, its breath hot and foul against his face. The world dimmed around the edges. He caught sight of Elara's body a few feet away. Still. Peaceful. The only thing untouched by the chaos.
He laughed weakly, more air than sound. "I really… can't catch a break, can I?"
Memories flashed. A hospital room. Machines beeping in the dark. A body too weak to move. Days blurred together until the only thing that kept him sane were the games he lived inside, worlds where he wasn't sick, where power wasn't a fantasy.
Those games had become his escape, his only taste of freedom.
And now… this world felt too close to them. The rifts, the beasts, the surge of Aether, it was everything he once clung to behind a screen, only real and terrifying and alive." And now, here he was again, about to die in a burning slum, guarding a body no one would bury.
"How unlucky… can one soul be?"
The monster drew back for the final strike. Lucien stared up at it, chest rising shallowly. Every instinct told him to run, but there was nowhere left to go. He just clenched his fists, forcing the words out.
"Elara… I'm sorry."
It roared, raising its claw.
BOOM.
The sound wasn't the monster's strike, it was something else. A blast from outside, closer than before. The ground trembled. He heard shouts, distant but human this time.
"Target the breach! Focus fire on the left flank!"
"Two beasts still inside! Move!"
Lucien blinked through the haze. The monsters hesitated, their heads snapping toward the noise. Aether blasts flickered through the smoke outside — blue and gold light cutting through the darkness. Soldiers. Pure-bloods, by the sound of it.
"Too late…" Lucien whispered. He tried to push himself up again, but his arms gave out. One of the beasts turned back toward him, rage burning in its gaze. The second rushed toward the incoming lights.
Lucien barely lifted his head. The world was fading fast. His heart thudded once, twice, then slowed.
Thump… thump…
The last thing he saw was the shadow of the beast above him, claw descending, and a blinding flash that swallowed everything in white.
Then there was silence
The world should have gone dark. Lucien felt it slipping away, the cold pressing against his skin, the faint hum of silence replacing the roars that once filled the air. His thoughts drifted between the line of life and death, weightless and slow. He couldn't move, couldn't even tell if he was breathing.
But somewhere deep inside, something refused to let go.
He thought death would be peaceful, that it would welcome him quietly after all the pain. But this wasn't peace. This was suspension, as if the universe hadn't decided yet. His chest ached, his limbs numb, yet he could still feel the faint pulse of something foreign. It wasn't life, but it wasn't nothing either.
"This… isn't death," he muttered weakly, his voice a fading echo in the void.
Memories fluttered by, Elara's voice, her final smile, the way she said she could feel his warmth even when the world turned cold.
"I'll prove myself… even if the gods spit on my blood," he whispered, clutching onto that fragment. The words anchored him, pulling him back from the edge.